


Language of Flowers

by taeminki



Category: NU'EST
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 18:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11019441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeminki/pseuds/taeminki
Summary: Jonghyun doesn't know how to love (and Minhyung realizes he doesn't really get it either).





	Language of Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> ♪ flower (you) -vav

Minhyun almost stepped on the bouquet of flowers sitting at his doorstep. If he hadn't fumbled and dropped his keys, he wouldn't have seen them at all-- perhaps not until he tripped on them as he attempted to walk through his front door. Minhyun already knew who the flowers were from, and he debated whether or not he should touch them at all. He made a quick decision to pick them up as he reached for his keys, but instead of taking them inside, or caring for them at all, he spun on his heel and went to the end of his driveway, and he opened one of his trash bins and dropped them inside.

Only then did he proceed to go inside.

Minhyun set his phone and keys on the counter. He kicked off his shoes and slid his jacket off of his arms in one fluid movement. He hung his jacket on its respective hook on the coat rack behind his front door. He tucked his shoes into their respective place beneath his jackets. He checked his phone for any emails or messages, and found a brand new message from Kim Jonghyun waiting for him. He wasn't sure why he entertained himself with it, but it looked particularly long, in a way that pulled Minhyun to read it.

 _From: Kim Jonghyun_  
_18:13_  
_[image attached]_  
_Hyacinth (Purple)_  
_Meaning: I'm sorry. Please forgive me_.

The picture showed the bouquet of flowers Minhyun had just thrown away. They were pretty flowers, but they were pretty flowers from Kim Jonghyun, and Minhyun rather not put himself through the trouble of keeping him again.

Minhyun walked away from his phone in favor of grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen. He couldn't help but think back to the message as he was sipping the cold beverage. _I'm sorry. Please forgive me_. The flowers were begging for Minhyun's forgiveness.

Maybe Minhyun regretted throwing them away.

 

  
"Minhyun? You have a delivery."

Minhyun looked up to see a bouquet of flowers a few feet away from his face. He recognized the flowers right away-- anyone would. They were tulips. They were yellow and pretty; and Minhyun smiled when he was accepting them despite the fact that he would rather not. He still had a bitter taste in the back of his throat when he thought about Kim Jonghyun; yet, somehow, he couldn't stop himself from opening the little card attached to the tulips.

 _Tulips (Yellow)_  
_Meaning: There's sunshine in your smile_.

 _How horribly cheesy_ , Minhyun thought, but it brought him back to the time Jonghyun said the same thing to him. They were half-asleep, and Minhyun was smiling. Jonghyun had flinched away from his smile, joking, and wondered "Has the sun come up already?" because they'd been awake together for hours, just talking and cuddling and being in love. Minhyun frowned, thinking Jonghyun was serious, and peeked at the window. He turned to Jonghyun and said, "No. It's still dark--" and Jonghyun laughed, "There's sunshine in your smile, baby. I thought it might be morning already."

Minhyun found himself smiling at the memory but then snapping out of it when that bitter taste crawled up his tongue. He threw away the card and he pushed away the flowers; he may just have to find a way to throw them away during the day. He rather not tuck them beneath his legs into the garbage can beneath his desk. He knew he would think about them, whether he could see them or not. It was better he had them on his desk, so he had an excuse if he began to think about them again.

"Minhyun," not two minutes later, Minhyun was met with another bouquet of the same tulips-- red, this time. Minhyun smiled again as he was taking the flowers, but it dropped as soon as the man delivering them had walked away. Again, he couldn't stop himself from opening the card that was attached, despite reminding himself that it wasn't a good idea.

 _Tulips (Variegated)_  
_Meaning: Beautiful eyes_

Minhyun rolled said beautiful eyes as he tossed the card and pushed the flowers away. He was at work; he was trying to _focus_ , and now he had another memory floating from the back of his mind to the front, distracting him. It was another memory of Jonghyun-- another memory of their relationship. He and Jonghyun had been kissing-- making out, really. They were on the couch, ad they were lax apart from their shoulders and heads, which were both quite active as they held each other and kissed-- kissed and kissed and kissed. When they were breathless, they broke away from each other. Jonghyun's weight wasn't so heavy on Minhyun's rising and falling chest-- not like this, when they were looking at each other and falling in love all over again. They stared into each other's eyes for a little too long, and Jonghyun eventually blurted "You have the most beautiful eyes."

Minhyun found himself blushing at the compliment even to this day-- months later, and then he became angry at himself as he remembered he was bitter, and he was supposed to be focusing. He looked back at his computer and hoped he may continue to read, but another bunch of flowers was handed to him, with a soft whisper of "I'm sorry-- I have no idea why they weren't all sent up at the same time--" from the delivery man. Minhyun told him it was fine; any more flowers he could just toss. The delivery man looked confused, but he just nodded and left. More tulips lay in Minhyun's palm, along with another damn card.

 _Tulips (Red)_  
_Meaning: Declaration of love; Believe me_

Minhyun pushed the flowers aside; he threw the card away. He closed his eyes and lay his head down for two minutes as he felt a headache coming on. He didn't need this-- not today, not ever again. He was over Kim Jonghyun; he was over his love for flowers. He was tired of predicting each of the flowers' meanings because Jonghyun had talked about them all before. He was tired of walking past Jonghyun's flower shop every day and speeding by, hoping not to be noticed-- of being tempted to peek into the big window and see Jonghyun working. He was over Kim Jonghyun, so why the hell was he so tempted to respond to his flowery messages?

(Minhyun found out later that day that he had another batch of tulips waiting for him, ones that the delivery boy went ahead and threw away, just like he asked. They were just plain red tulips-- more red tulips, but Minhyun knew Jonghyun wasn't sending him another declaration of love. Minhyun knew tulips, in general, meant _perfect lover_. Minhyun guessed the card would have told him the same thing.)

 

  
"Uh, Minhyun? Someone just dropped this off for you."

Minhyun was starting to get a little pissed. He was _in class;_ what the hell was Jonghyun doing, sending him a rose in the middle of class? He heard some giggles and wondered if he had landed himself in the middle of a high school classroom instead of a college one. He lay the rose on his desk and ignored it for the rest of the class, grateful that no more were sent to him. There was a little card tied to the rose; it had Minhyun's name on the outside, this time. It was pretty, the writing. Jonghyun must have tried very hard on this one.

 _Rose (Single, Full Bloom)_  
_Meaning: I still love you_

Minhyun tapped his fingers against his desk as he stared at the rose, finding himself repulsed. He had to remind himself that class was over, and physically peel himself out of his desk. He grabbed his bag and began to make his way out of the room. On the way out, he noticed his professor wasn't looking, so he dumped the rose in the garbage. _I don't care if you still love me, Jonghyun, because I don't still love you_.

 

  
Except Minhyun kind of did still love Jonghyun.

 

  
It was complicated, Minhyun and Jonghyun. Their relationship, their feelings. They started off friends with major crushes on each other-- awkward ones, too, the kind that should have prevented them from being friends but pushed them closer together, somehow. They began to date just to attempt to rid themselves of the awkwardness, and began to get serious out of high school. Only thing: Minhyun was more prepared for the real world than Jonghyun, and they lost each other somehow. Their levels of maturity didn't grow at the same rate, and didn't balance out quickly enough for Minhyun. They were on and off constantly as Jonghyun stumbled around and tried to figure out how to love and Minhyun worked and studied and found himself without any time to help Jonghyun along. Besides, Jonghyun was an adult. Couldn't he figure it out on his own?

Minhyun was starting to wonder if it was fair of him to leave Jonghyun on his own. He was starting to wonder, really. Jonghyun's efforts of getting Minhyun back-- or maybe just sending him messages so he knew he was loved-- were starting to get to Minhyun's heart. Maybe he was stuck in his puppy love phase where these cheesy, cute things were enough for him to be in love. Maybe he didn't really know how to love, either. Maybe he wasn't sure what to make of all of this. Maybe he cried a little bit when Jonghyun sent him primroses that meant _I can't live without you_. Maybe Minhyun wanted to sent him primroses, too, and tulips and roses. Maybe Minhyun wanted to call him or walk into his flower shop. Maybe Minhyun wanted him back so that they could figure out this whole love thing together. Maybe Minhyun _did_  walk into Jonghyun's flower shop at the end of the week; and perhaps he didn't regret it at all.

"Can I help you?" Jonghyun asked without even looking up. Minhyun didn't say a word, because _yes_ , actually, Jonghyun could help him-- but how did he say it? How could he bring himself to forgive Jonghyun without gaining forgiveness himself-- forgiveness that Jonghyun didn't even know he needed to give? Minhyun was sorry, too. Jonghyun didn't know he'd done a thing wrong.

Jonghyun looked up when Minhyun didn't say anything, and he took a shocked step back. He looked tired, Minhyun noticed, but he doubted if he didn't look the same way. Confused. Tired. Lonely. It hung around them and within them; and the only way to get rid of it was to talk, but neither of them seemed to remember how.

Minhyun swallowed his nerves and asked "D-- do you have any roses? R-red."

Jonghyun nodded numbly. He was silent and still for a moment, and then he asked "How many?"

"J-just one. Full bloom." Minhyun croaked out. Jonghyun nodded again, and then he disappeared for a few moments. He came back with a single red rose-- thornless and pretty. He cut its stem a little shorter and handed it to Minhyun. Minhyun avoided Jonghyun's eyes; his excuse was pulling his wallet out of his pocket, but he knew he was just trying to avoid this-- this awkwardness, this tension. He asked, "How much is it?" and Jonghyun shook his head, "It's just a rose."

"It means something, though." Minhyun said. Jonghyun shrugged. Minhyun held the rose out-- out for Jonghyun to take. Jonghyun didn't seem to register that, but Minhyun knew he realized. He had a certain expression in his eyes that was asking Minhyun _Really?_  and his adam's apple bobbed as he gulped. He made no move to take the rose, and he looked confused; but Minhyun _knew_ , and Jonghyun _knew_. Minhyun explained, "I believe this one has something to tell you."

"I still don't know how to love." Jonghyun blurted, looking embarrassed after the words had spilled from his lips. Minhyun shrugged, finding his arm tired, but not pulling back, "Neither do I."

Jonghyun finally reached for the flower. He held it just in front of his chest, and Minhyun's arm fell back to his side. For some moments, silence; Jonghyun looked at the flower and Minhyun looked at Jonghyun. Then Jonghyun looked up, "Do you mean it?"

"Do you have any red tulips?"


End file.
